We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Curtis Cunningham a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Curtis , thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I have done a fair bit of traveling around the world. I have met many different people and characters from all walks of life, and it’s in the diversity of stories that really sparked my interest with wanting to tell stories myself, mainly because I find myself trying to paint a full picture when I tell a story. What did the person say, how did they say it, what was everyone’s reaction to that. Simply explaining what happened never really appealed to me I always tried to bring the listener into the world of what I was telling.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I spent about six years as a solo backpacker traveling around the world working of jobs and nesting all kinds of people. I had grown a custom to living out of my backpack and praying that there would still be a bottom bunk available in the next hostel I check in to. When I wasn’t out traveling I would return to Canada and teach Outdoor Education and Backcountry Camping with the YMCA. I loved that job I met the best of people and I learned a hell of a lot about myself and what I was capable of. That job really brought me out of my shell, it was the safe place to explore and fail and thrive and fail again for me. All throughout my life people told me that I should be an Actor. When I was comfortable around people I would do impressions or voices or some sort of bit to get a good laugh out of people. I never really though about acting as like a career, I thought that it was something that you kind of just had or were born into. It wasn’t until I was having breakfast one morning with my parents and I saw an ad online for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Once I saw that ad, the fireworks in my brain went off like crazy. The stars aligned and that became my main focus for the next few months to save up and get my higher education as an actor. That was probably summer 2021, I moved to NYC in fall 2021 and I haven’t looked back since.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The biggest resource I wish I knew earlier would be to understand just how easy it is to start and get involved in any sort of artistic scene. You don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of money on a fancy school or know the “right kind” of people but simply that you can just start making your own stuff. Especially in todays world with how advanced and accessible technology is, it’s so easy to write a story, cast your friends, take out your phone and film it or have someone sit in a chair and show it to them. I come from the age where you needed enough cassette tape and double A batteries to make a movie but it’s so easy now.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I feel it’s real simple. More funding. In todays world where everything has a price tag on it and those prices keep going up but the money to make a living is not, artists need more funding. I always like to think that for every 10 artists who “make it” and become successful and make a living as an artist, there are 100 other artists behind them who are just as equally/ if not more talented and ambitious as the rest, but can’t get there mainly because of money. There are so many stories that are left on paper or get put on the shelf because they can’t afford to rent a theater or it’ll cost too much to get film equipment and so on and so on. Give artists the funds they need to create.
Contact Info:
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Image Credits
Theatrical photos by Bronwen Sharp